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encephalization

n. a larger than expected brain size for a species, given its body size. For example, an average person weighing 140 lb has an actual brain weight of 2.9 lb instead of the predicted 0.6 lb. This enlargement is the result of evolutionary advancement, with the brains of higher species increasing in anatomical complexity as cognitive functions were transferred from more primitive brain areas to the cerebral cortex (a process called corticalization).

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